RW395 Furnace issue

BruteForce

Well-known member
My mother is flying in from Houston to stay with us for a week. She requested that she be allowed to "live" in the 5th wheel toy hauler while she's here. In advance, we've prepped the TH, filled both propane tanks and situated it to be stayed in (minus water).

The issue at hand is that I cant get the furnace to stay lit and hot for more than a few minutes. If I adjust the thermo to 75F, it will ignite, run for a few minutes, then turn-off and only blow cold air.

The stove will light and run just fine. I have two full propane tanks. I've alternated between the two tanks to see if one line is simply not functioning or frozen. I've also placed an electrical heating blanket over the propane tanks and line to confirm the lines/tank aren't frozen (we've not exceeded 25F temps in the past 2 weeks).

Any suggestions greatly appreciated. My mother arrives this Wednesday and I need to see about getting this resolved before she arrives.
 

mrhits

Member
I had the same issue. i have dual propane tanks, when i switched over to the other side, it stayed on and worked well. I am guessing i have a bad regulator switch on the right side which causes the system to shut down. If you have duals, you might want to try the other side and see if that works.
 

BruteForce

Well-known member
I've switched between the two tanks with the same result. I just came back in from diagnosing the furnace further. What I'm seeing is this:

Turn the regulator to the middle, furnace fires up. Run outside to feel the exhaust and it's warm. Wait a few seconds and only one port on the exhaust is blowing warm air while what sounds like the igniter constantly firing on the right side port. Eventually the left side port starts to blow cold air and the fans/furnace shut-off.

What's baffling me though is why the propane burning stove is functioning just fine if its a possible fuel/propane input issue.

Initially, I just assumed maybe the propane line was frozen at the tank, regulator or line -- but since the stove is working just fine...
 

jimtoo

Moderator
I think your regulator will work in the middle,, but you are using from both tanks. Sounds like you may have a restriction in the burner area and the sail switch is not letting the unit continue to run. It is my understanding that if the air passing through the burner area is not great enough to trip or engage the sail switch it will shut down to prevent the burner from over heating and causing damage. You need to check for spider webs, dirt dobber nest in the burner area. Yes,, spider webs will do it... :D

Jim M
 

BruteForce

Well-known member
I think your regulator will work in the middle,, but you are using from both tanks. Sounds like you may have a restriction in the burner area and the sail switch is not letting the unit continue to run. It is my understanding that if the air passing through the burner area is not great enough to trip or engage the sail switch it will shut down to prevent the burner from over heating and causing damage. You need to check for spider webs, dirt dobber nest in the burner area. Yes,, spider webs will do it... :D

Jim M

Thanks. I assume I just pull the couple exterior screws from the plate/cover and inspect behind that panel where the exhaust vents?
 

BruteForce

Well-known member
I think you will have to pull the furnace to get at the sail switchs and the burners

I just pulled the exterior cover and found nothing but the blower and exhaust vents. Looks like I may need to gain access from inside the RV where the cold air return is inside the kitchen (on the floor). I don't see any other way to gain access to the remainder of the furnace.

Brr... Sure cold pulling all those metal plates when its 17F outside and you're wearing shorts while standing in a snow bank! :rolleyes:
 

BruteForce

Well-known member
One more thing to add: When the furnace does initially ignite, the exhaust stinks of raw propane. I assume its initially igniting due to the fact that the exhaust is warm.
 

hoefler

Well-known member
You will have to remove the furnace from the rig and dis-assemble it and clean the heat exchanger. Inspect the intake and exhaust side thoroughly. Like said above, most likely a wasp nest or spider's nest.
 
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BruteForce

Well-known member
You will have to remove the furnace from the rig and dis-assemble it and clean the heat exchange. Inspect the intake and exhaust side thoroughly. Like said above, most likely a wasp nest or spider's nest.

Thanks for all the feedback. I have an appointment at the dealer today and will have them inspect and repair.
 

captpfd

Active Member
Mine did the exact same thing as you described. It was the ingnition module circuit board. The part was $125 at the RV stealer and another $75 to install it. I was also in a hurry and wish I had more time to research it myself, but the bottom line it was fixed in two days and I was out riding the dirtbikes and camping in comfort. Capt.
 

BruteForce

Well-known member
Just a quick update on this. I got warranty approval from Heartland customer service, scheduled an appointment with a local dealer, but have not yet been able to move the 5th wheel. The snow banks at the end of my driveway are so large (5+'), that there's no way for me to get the rig moved. Additionally, even if I got the trailer out, its doubtful I'd be able to back it in again -- due to the massive snow banks lining our street.

The weather has finally warmed above freezing, but I think it will still be some time before 3-5 foot snow banks melt enough to be passable. UGH!
 

BruteForce

Well-known member
Updated: Turns out that a single bad pigtail (propane tank to valve) was at fault. Seems that if just a single tanks pigtail goes bad, it prevents adequte equalization of line pressure and keeps the furnace from running. Seems strange, but that's the explanation I was given. My furnace is again working well!
 

JEdwards

Member
Thanks for the update. Does that mean you need to run the furnace off of both LP tanks at the same time?

In my prior TT, the automatic selector valve would run all the appliances off of one tank at a time, then switch tanks when the first tank was empty.

I would assume that if the furnace worked off of one tank at a time (like it did in my prior TT) and that if a single LP pigtail was causing all the furnace issues, that the furnace would work fine off of the tank with the good pigtail.

If you have to have both tanks open and equalized in order to run the furnace, that is good to know.

I ordered the RW before I left the country for a few months, so I haven't had a chance to see it yet (thus my confusion and ignorance). My wife and kids love the RW, but I don't think that they've tried to turn on the heat yet.
 

BruteForce

Well-known member
I've run the furnace and stove with just one tank valve open (the other closed). I found it odd that a single pigtail could kill my furnace. I'm still at a loss to explain how that's possible. In my testing, I used the manual selector valve to switch between both tanks and had the same result. I can definitely see the new pigtail on the right side tank and the furnace is working, but I can't explain the issue.

As far as I know, you can run the selector valve in the middle and it will use both tanks, but you don't have to do it that way. I generally prefer to run one tank at a time. In winter, I'll leave it in the middle because there's nothing worse than having the tank run dry at 2am and needing to hop outside to turn the selector switch.
 

tjjung

Member
I have a 2010 Road Warrior 405 with the same problem. I have had it to the dealer once but still not fixed. I have another appt. with the dealer in a few weeks. Perhaps I should tell them where to look.
I also can smell propane near the heater exhaust outside the trailer. I filled both 30 gallon propane tanks and several days later they were both empty. No more propane until they fix it.
Thanks for the info.
 
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